A childish question, even though I'm an aligator

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In a hypothetical scenario where a bowling ball is placed in the center of a cubic room at the Earth's core, it would not fall in any direction due to gravity being equal in all directions, resulting in the ball hovering. The Earth's center is actually a slightly oblate sphere, but the concept holds that within a hollow sphere, gravitational forces cancel out. If the bowling ball were slightly displaced from the center, it would oscillate around that central point, indicating a stable equilibrium. This principle applies universally within any hollow gravitating body. Thus, the bowling ball would remain suspended in the center, demonstrating unique gravitational properties.
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Alright, so I was just thinking the other day about say...a bowling ball in the center of the Earth, where the center of the Earth is sectioned off by a perfect cubic room. Now say the bowling ball was positioned in the center of that room. I was wondering where the bowling ball would fall towards. Would it just float there? Please neglect all the reasons why this experiment would be nearly impossible to perform. Just imagine...

Thank You.
 
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my guess is yes
 
The centre of the Earth will actually be a slightly oblate sphere, not a cube. In any event, gravity is equal in all directions, so the ball will just hover.
 
Danger said:
The centre of the Earth will actually be a slightly oblate sphere, not a cube. In any event, gravity is equal in all directions, so the ball will just hover.

Even better than this, if the ball were to be displaced just slightly from the center it would oscillate about the center point. In other words, the (hollowed) center of a gravitating body is a stable equilibrium point.
 
Parlyne said:
Even better than this, if the ball were to be displaced just slightly from the center it would oscillate about the center point. In other words, the (hollowed) center of a gravitating body is a stable equilibrium point.
As Danger points out, the gravitational forces inside a hollow sphere cancel out - no matter where inside the sphere you put the bowling ball, it will remain there.
 
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